Forestry statistics : 2009 edition

Forests and other wooded land cover 177 million hectares or 42% of the terrestrial area of the 27 Member States of the European Union. Public entities own 41%, while private and other, sometimes unknown, parties own 59%. Forests provide many benefits to society and to the economy and play an important role in the preservation of natural biodiversity and the mitigation of climate change. In spite of the amounts felled, 154.4 kg of carbon per inhabitant and year are stored in their growing stock and thus removed from the atmosphere. This booklet contains statistics for the EU, EFTA and candidate countries for the years 2005, 2007 and 2008. It also contains time series that compare the EU's production and trade with that of other major wood-producing countries over the past decade. Information from other bodies is included to give the reader a comprehensive view of developments in the EU's forests, as are estimates of the carbon content of forests and wood products based on recommended conversion factors.